The Sword, The Jewel, and The Mirror

The death of Taira Tomomori - Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1798 - 1861
(Source)

In ancient Japan, the country was ruled by emperors, believed to have been descendants of the sun goddess, Amaterasu. The emperors ruled from Kyoto, they and their courtiers dwelled in luxury, attending to the finer things in life. While out in the countryside, the people who eventually became the samurai, pushed the barbarians back, eventually extending Japanese rule over the islands of Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu, and finally, the far northern isle of Hokkaido.

Politics then was as nasty and fickle as it is today.

Two great clans arose, the Taira and the Minamoto. They competed to gain favor from the emperors, over time they came to dominate the emperor. Eventually things came to a head. Both clans wanted to rule through the emperor. And there could be only one...

The Taira were a seafaring race, dwelling along the shores of the Inland Sea, the Minamoto were land based. Both families were descended from the imperial family, those members who were barred from succession that is.

Both clans wished to change that...

So they went to war.

Eventually the Taira were driven from the East of Japan and retreated to their lands along the coast. The Minamoto bided their time. The Taira were masters of the sea, so the Minamoto learned and built ships of their own.

Soon the showdown came in the Shimonoseki Straight, off the southern tip of Honshu...

The Taira were outnumbered, but some sources say that they had the advantage over the Minamoto in understanding the tides of that particular area, as well as naval combat tactics in general. The Taira split their fleet into three squadrons, while their enemy arrived en masse, their ships abreast, and archers ready. The beginning of the battle consisted mainly of a long-range archery exchange, before the Taira took the initiative, using the tides to help them try to surround the enemy ships. They engaged the Minamoto, and the archery from a distance eventually gave way to hand-to-hand combat with swords and daggers after the crews of the ships boarded each other. However, the tide changed, and the advantage was given back to the Minamoto. 

One of the crucial factors that allowed the Minamoto to win the battle was that a Taira general, Taguchi Shigeyoshi, defected and attacked the Taira from the rear. He also revealed to the Minamoto which ship the six-year-old Emperor Antoku was on. Their archers turned their attention to the helmsmen and rowers of the Emperor's ship, as well as the rest of their enemy's fleet, sending their ships out of control. Many of the Taira saw the battle turn against them and committed suicide. 

Among those who perished this way were Antoku and his grandmother, Nun of the Second Rank, the widow of Taira no Kiyomori. (Source)

The sword, the jewel, and the mirror of the title were the Imperial Regalia of ancient Japan. As defeat approached, the Taira threw the sword and the jewel overboard. Before they could throw the mirror overboard, their ship was captured, the survivors dove overboard to join their emperor and their clansmen in death.

Divers eventually recovered the jewel, some claim that the sword was also recovered and is now kept at the Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya.

Many believe that the ancient sword, 草薙劍 (Kusanagi no Tsurugi) was lost forever at the battle and still lies somewhere on the sea floor.

The Taira were also known as the Heike, and the Minamoto were also known as the Genji. Japanese legend says that the crab native to the Inland Sea, the Heike crab, bears the faces of the dead Taira warriors. It's easy to see why.

Heikegani, or Samurai Crab
(Source)

The Minamoto eventually established the first Shogunate which made the Emperor a mere figurehead in the control of powerful warlords. This situation lasted until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. The Shoguns ruled Japan for nearly seven centuries.

Japan has a rich history, it's rather a shame few people in the West know of it. For some reason, I always feel a pang of sadness to think of the defeat of the Taira, and I wonder, does that ancient sword lie on the sea bed, or is it really at the Atsuta Shrine?

In truth, I don't want to know. I prefer the mystery.

Cypress Trees Byōbu, folding screen by Kanō Eitoku
(Source)

This is my interpretation of a time in Japan which is shrouded in myth and legend. The truth may, or may not be in the ancient texts. Who knows for sure?